5000 metres world record Budd, who was born in
Bloemfontein,
Orange Free State, South Africa, achieved fame in early 1984, at the age of 17, when she broke the 5000 m world record with a time of 15:01.83. Since her performance took place in South Africa, then excluded from international athletics competition due to
apartheid, the
International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) refused to ratify Budd's time as an official world record. In 1985, she claimed the world record officially, while representing Great Britain, clocking 14:48.07.
Arrival in Britain The
Daily Mail, a British
tabloid newspaper, persuaded Budd's father to encourage her to apply for registration as a
British citizen, on the grounds that her grandfather was British, to circumvent the international
sporting boycott of South Africa, so that she could compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. With a strong push from the
Daily Mail, registration as a British citizen was granted in short order and she moved to
Guildford. Her application and arrival was controversial due to her acquiring a passport so quickly. Groups supporting the abolition of apartheid campaigned to highlight the rapid treatment she received; applicants for naturalisation typically had to wait years for their applications to be considered. Shortly afterwards, Budd was forced to pull out of a
1500 metres race in
Crawley, Sussex, when the town council withdrew their invitation at short notice. The race was part of the inaugural event for the town's new Bewbush Leisure Centre and Mayor Alf Pegler said members of the council had expressed misgivings that the local significance of the event would be overshadowed by "political connotations and anti-apartheid demonstrators". She ran her first competitive race on the cinder track at Central Park in
Dartford, Kent, covering 3000 m in 9:02.6 in a race shown live on the
BBC's
Grandstand. She ran in further races in Britain, including the UK Championships 1500 m (won in 4:04) and the 3000 m in the UK Olympic trials, which she won in 8:40, earning a place on the British Olympic team. In the
2000 m at Crystal Palace in July 1984 she set a new world record of 5:33.15. Commenting during the race for the
BBC,
David Coleman exclaimed, "The message will now be flashed around the world – Zola Budd is no myth." In Britain, Budd trained at
Aldershot, Farnham and District Athletics Club.
1984 Olympic 3000 metres In the 1984 Olympics, held in Los Angeles, California, the media billed the
3000 m race as a duel between Budd and world champion
Mary Decker of USA. However, experts expected that Decker's main competition would be Romanian
Maricica Puică, who had set the fastest time that year. Budd, deeply affected by the occurrence, continued to lead for a while, but faded, finishing seventh. Her finishing time of 8:48 was well outside her best of 8:37. Budd tried to apologise to Decker in the tunnel after the race, but Decker was upset, and replied, "Don't bother!" Puică won, with Sly second, and Canada's
Lynn Williams third. An
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) jury found that she was not responsible for the collision. Decker said many years after the event: "The reason I fell, some people think she tripped me deliberately. I happen to know that wasn't the case at all. The reason I fell is because I am and was very inexperienced in running in a pack." In general, it is the trailing athlete's responsibility to avoid contact with the runner ahead; whether or not Budd had sufficient control of the race to have pulled into the curve as she did was hotly disputed. "This doesn't mean," track journalist Kenny Moore wrote in the aftermath, "that a leader can swerve in with impunity, but that in the give and take of pack running, athletes learn to make allowances." In 2002, the moment was ranked 93rd in Channel 4's
100 Greatest Sporting Moments. On an episode of
Celebrity Come Dine with Me, Budd stated that she had never seen footage of the collision. Budd and Decker later reunited for a 2016 documentary about the incident,
The Fall.
International competition Budd competed internationally for the UK in 1985 and 1986. In February 1985, she was
World Cross Country Champion (beating
Ingrid Kristiansen), but then went on to several track defeats. The most significant of these was her rematch with Mary Decker-Slaney at Crystal Palace in July 1985, in which she finished fourth, some 13 seconds behind Decker-Slaney. After this race she then went on to break the UK and Commonwealth records for the 1500 m (in 3:59.96), the mile (4:17.57), the 3000m (8:28.83) and the 5000m (14:48.07). This last reduced the world record by ten seconds. She was also victor in the
European Cup 3000m. Her best times in the
1500m,
mile run and 3000m were set in races with Decker-Slaney and
Maricica Puică. Budd finished third in all three races, with Decker-Slaney and Puică consistently coming first and second, respectively. 1986 began with a defence of her World Cross Country title and a world indoor 3000m record of 8:39.79. After a couple of victories in fast early season times over 1500m (4:01.93) and 3000m (8:34.72), her outdoor track season brought several defeats by athletes she should have beaten easily. She competed in both the 1500m and 3000m at the European Championships but did not win a medal in either, finishing ninth and fourth, respectively. It later emerged that Budd was suffering a painful leg injury for much of the season and she did not compete in 1987 as she sought treatment for this. == Personal life ==